Southern Maine restaurants make New Year’s Eve special

Several restaurants around southern Maine are planning special events and menus for New Year’s Eve. Here is a listing of some of them. We’ll be updating the list in Food & Dining as the holiday approaches.

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The White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport plans an elegant black-tie party featuring dinner, a kitchen tour and live music. Press Herald file

Natalie’s at the Camden Harbour Inn, 83 Bay View St., will be serving a three-course dinner at 5:30 p.m. and an eight-course dinner at 8 p.m. that will include a countdown party with live music, a complimentary Champagne toast, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and party favors. The full menus will be posted online at nataliesrestaurant.com. For reservations, call 236-7008.

CAPE ELIZABETH

The Good Table, 527 Ocean House Road (Route 77), will be “dressing up” the restaurant with white linens, candles, bubbly and a special menu featuring choices of eight appetizers, eight entrees and six desserts. The meal will begin with apps such as raw oysters, a pear and Stilton salad and a braised brisket slider. Entree options include a natural ribeye with a red wine demi glace, pan-seared jumbo scallops with a toasted hazelnut Spanish sherry cream, lobster pot pie, stuffed game hen and rack of lamb. Dinner will be served from 5 to 9 p.m. only, and reservations are required. Call 799-4663.

Sea Glass at Inn by the Sea, 40 Bowery Beach Road (Route 77), will serve a four-course dinner for $75 per person, or $100 with a wine flight. The menu will ring out the old by bringing back some old favorites, such as French onion soup and baked Alaska bread pudding. Reservations will be taken from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Call 799-3134.

DAMARISCOTTA

The Damariscotta River Grill, 155 Main St., will serve a three-course prix fixe menu specially designed by chef Rick Hirsch and his team. Cost will be $38-48, depending on entree selection. The special menu is available a la carte as well. Dinner will be served from 5 to 10 p.m. Call 563-2992 for reservations.

KENNEBUNK/KENNEBUNKPORT

The White Barn Inn, 37 Beach Ave., is throwing a lavish black-tie affair with gowns, tuxedos and an elegant dinner menu with wine pairings. The evening will begin with canapes at 7 p.m., followed by the dinner seating at 8 p.m. There will be live music and a midnight toast with grand chef Jonathan Cartwright, followed by a special kitchen tour. The cost is $290 per person, not including tax, beverage and gratuity. Call 967-2321 for reservations.

One Dock at the Kennebunkport Inn, One Dock Square, will serve a four-course dinner for $75 per person, featuring dishes such as grilled Maine lobster drizzled with tarragon butter atop Israeli couscous and marinated artichokes, and grilled rack of lamb with fingerling potatoes, white asparagus and whole mustard cream sauce and raspberry marjolaine. A wine pairing will be offered for $25 per person. For reservations, call 967-2621.

Academe at The Kennebunk Inn, 45 Main St., will be serving Comfort Food Classics, familiar flavors prepared with the chefs’ modern interpretation. The a la carte menu will include apps such as classic French onion soup with smoked gruyere cheese gratin. For an entree, a typical dish will be Triple Threat Fried Chicken & Waffles, served with egg nog waffles, spiced honey, toasted pecans and ranch slaw. Dessert choices include a miniature fresh cherry pie a la mode. To view the entire menu, go to thekennebunkinn.com. For reservations, call 985-3351.

PORTLAND

Walter’s, 2 Portland Square, will serve its full winter seasonal menu with two local fish specials. Dinner hours are 5 to 9:30 p.m. The bar will be open from 5 to close. For reservations, call 871-9258.

Bar Lola, 100 Congress St, will be offering a five-course menu for $55 per person. Call 775-5652 or go to barlola.net for reservations.

BiBo’s Madd Apple Cafe, 23 Forest Ave., will be open from 5 to 9:30 p.m. and will feature a four-course menu for $50 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Guests will be able to choose from five appetizers, ranging from Maine lobster sliders on house-made brioche bun to roasted proscuitto-wrapped gorgonzola-stuffed pear. The five choices for entree will include Dijon-crusted rack of lamb and poached Atlantic salmon with asparagus beurre blanc. There will be five desserts, ranging from mini Madd Apple pockets to creme caramel. The complete menu will be posted on the restaurant’s website, bibosportland.com. For reservations, call 774-9698 or reserve online.

Bresca, 111 Middle St., will celebrate the food and wine of the Veneto region of Italy with “A Venetian Holiday.” Chef Krista Desjarlais will serve five courses for $85. Wine pairings are $35 extra. For reservations, call 772-1004.

Nosh Kitchen Bar, 551 Congress St., will serve fun snacks, “cool drinks” and have a free Champagne toast during its New Year’s Eve party, which will be held from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Music will be from DJ Nicotine and others. The evening will culminate in a sandwich contest. Chef Jason Loring will choose the winner, and the winning sandwich will go on the restaurant’s winter menu. Tickets are $20. For reservations, call 553-2227 or go online to noshkitchenbar.com.

Carmen at the Danforth, 163 Danforth St., will celebrate New Year’s eve with tasting menus, wine flights and live music. The first seating will be at 6 p.m. and feature a four-course tasting menu for $80, with wine pairings an extra $40. Courses will include Maine lobster with boniato gnocchi and lobster-saffron nage, poached sturgeon with smoked calabaza risotto, and Kobe boneless short ribs with creamy artisan manchego polenta. The second seating will be at 8:30 p.m. and includes a Champagne reception, a five-course tasting menu, party favors and live music for $125 per person. Wine pairings are $50 extra. Guests who stay at the inn will receive Champagne chilled in their room, a discount on the New Year’s Eve dinner and a morning-after breakfast of lobster Benedict. For reservations, call 358-7103.

Grace, 15 Chestnut St., will hold its regular dinner service, with specials, with the last reservation at 8:30 p.m. From 6:30 to 9 p.m. there will be live jazz from Standard Issue, followed by a DJ for the restaurant’s fourth annual New Year’s Eve party at 10 p.m. A $10 cover charge at the door will benefit the Center for Grieving Children. The night will end with a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. For reservations, call 828-4422.

Five Fifty-Five, 555 Congress St., will be celebrating its 10th New Year’s Eve by traveling back to the 1920s Prohibition era, and diners are welcome to wear dress appropriate to the time period. Cocktails for the evening will reflect that era, and there will be a complimetary Champagne toast at midnight. The restaurant will offer a five-course dinner with choices for $100. Wine pairings and extras optional. For reservations, call 761-0555.

Petite Jacqueline, 190 State St., will be offering a three-course dinner for $60 per person, with optional wine and Champagne pairings. Call 553-7044 for reservations.

East Ender, 47 Middle St., will be serving food inspired by good fortune and good luck. There will be four courses for $58, plus an optional $22 wine pairing. To make reservations, call 879-7669.

Zapoteca, 505 Fore St., will hold “An Oaxacan New Year Celebration” featuring a five-course menu for $55 per person. On the plate will be “vibrant Oaxacan-inspired dishes made modern,” such as adobo-glazed duck breast pan-seared and topped with a sauce of guajillo chiles, New England cranberries and spices. This dish, known as Pato en Mole de Guajillo Arandano, will be served with poblano corn pudding and tequila cranberry relish. Wine/tequila/mezcal pairings are available at an additional cost. Call 772-8242 for reservations.

Local 188, 685 Congress St., will be serving free tapas for New Year’s revelers from 10 a.m. to midnight. There will also be a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. For more information, call 761-7909.

WESTBROOK

The Frog and Turtle, 3 Bridge St., will have two dinner seatings and live music by the Maine dance band Rock Bottom. The first seating time is 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and includes a three-course menu with four choices for each course. That seating costs $45. The second seating begins at 7:30 p.m. and costs $65. That seating includes a raw bar, caviar tasting, charcuterie table and a four-course dinner of meats and fish, with all the courses set. Champagne, chocolates and dessert bites will be served at midnight. For reservations, call 591-4185.

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